Have faith, bargain shopper. You can find travel deals out there; you just have to be strategic in your search. Follow these tips and maximize your opportunities to travel at a discount:
Subscribe to free newsletters. If you can handle receiving a few extra emails in your box every week, you'll have the opportunity to save a bundle on your travel plans. Hotels, airlines and cruise ships prefer to book up completely, even if that means they have to shave a little off the price at the last minute. These travel companies often use e-newsletters to let you know when they're ready to offer you a deal. Take a visit to the websites of your favorite airlines, cruise operators and hotel brands and hunt around for an e-newsletter sign-up form. Try a couple of travel agents too, as they sometimes have fire sales on complete vacations. Just make your selections wisely--it doesn't do you or them any good if you don't read your emails.
Be a frequent buyer. Travel companies love loyalty. While you're looking around for e-newsletters, check into frequent buyer programs too. Affinity cards are popular; these are the credit cards that earn you miles or points. Once you have that card, the airline or hotel will be pretty good about letting you know how to use it to earn more miles. If you're super-diligent about paying your bills, start using the credit card for all of your regular expenses. Food, gas, clothes, whatever. Just make sure you pay off the balance every month. It may take awhile to earn those free plane tickets, but it'll be well worth the effort.
Stay packed. When that dream vacation deal arrives in your inbox, you have to be ready to take action. Get yourself organized by creating a list of things you'd have to do before skipping town for the weekend. Figure out who you need to call to check on the dog or pick up your newspaper while you're gone. Know where your suitcase is and keep a stash of travel-sized toiletries handy. You could even make a list of your go-to, jet-setting outfits: something dressy for an evening out, something comfy for walking around town and, of course, your favorite swimsuit.
Plan early. If you aren't the last-minute type, do the opposite: Plan your vacations a year in advance. This is likely to save you money on cruises and airfare in particular. Cruise lines will book more than a year in advance, while airlines usually go out about 11 months. Oh, and if you've saved up enough frequent flyer miles for free airfare, you have to book that ticket a year in advance. Airlines usually limit the number of freebies they'll offer on each flight, and they book up fast. If you wait too long, you won't get the flight you want.
Be flexible. When you're researching a specific destination, be flexible about your arrival days and the length of your stay. Experiment with different dates and times; leaving on a Tuesday instead of a Friday for example might make a huge difference in the cost of your airfare and hotel. Depending on the destination and the number of people in your travel party, a date change might save you enough on airfare to cover the cost of staying a few extra days. Along those same lines, be willing to visit your destinations in the off-season: You know, Palm Springs in the summer, Paris in the winter. You'll save money and avoid the crowds.
Be an outlier. You might be planning a vacation around a specific attraction, like Disneyland. If so, consider staying in a neighboring city. The hotels in Anaheim, particularly those within walking distance to Disneyland, charge a huge premium for their location. The same will be true for hotels surrounding almost any major attraction. Go to Google Maps and get familiar with the communities around Anaheim; if you stay 10 miles away, you'll save enough to pay for your rental car and then some.
